Method of oiling



c. w. MADsEN v METHOD OF OILING Jne 8, 1948.

Original Filed Jan. 21, 1942 Patented June 8,1948 Y by Dora H. Madsen, administiatrix,WestJordan, Utah, assignor, bydecree' of distribution,

to Dora H. Madsen Original application January 21,; 1942,#Seriai No..- '427,579. Divided and this application Decemtber 3, 1945, Serial No. 632,409 t 5 Claims.

t "l This invention relates to a method of oiling 'journal bearings and more particularly bearings of the so-called Waste-packed type that are ex- "tenSivelyused-With shafts of heavy machinery, 'such as modern rock or ore'crushing rolls. HOW- ever, the use .ofthe invention is not necessarily restricted to bearings of large sizes.

Amongithe principal objects of the invention "-are'j the following:

First.-`-To provide an overhead :feed of oil rather' than one whichdraws oil from underneath ashaft.

"Second.`-'To provide a practical and eicient .means ofl supplying oil or other lubricant to a j rotating shaft so that theA amount of oil or lubricant is always ample but notwastefful. Thrd.-Toeliminate troubles that are prevalent in substantially vvall bearings of the Waste- 11 packed or wick-packed types` as heretofore con- "'str'ucted.

Fouth.-'-'To eliminatethe possibility of damagetov the packing material caused by hardenlingLor burning in consequence of running contact'wi'th a shaft; thus the packing material is irendered iit for continuous use or'forre-use.

Fifth-#To economize oi-l, because theloil is not .rapidly siphoned off. rlSirlrth.-'-,-"Io, preventthe cutting or scoring of a 4gshaft, because Iall clust and dirtthat is caught fiby'the packing material is always out of direct Contact vwith the shaft surface.

I"Other "olljects"will becomeI apparent as the description progresses. In bearings `ofthe typeto 'which the invention LVYrelates,"a'relatively''largemass of Waste,"prefer ably wool waste, istightly packed in a confined cavity "or `char'nber and serves as an absorbent "reservoirfrom :which -oil feeds into' the bearing.

yItggis Wel-1L known to vusers of heavy machinery "in'which*was'teepackedtbearings are used, that when thefpacking is in running contact Iwith the -'s'haft, thez shaft gradually wearsl down andbef'vcdmessmaller'in"diameterat the area 'of contact because fof the constant "friction between' f the fpaklrigandthe metal 0f the Shaft. The rapid-ity -r ing is applied"to"the shaftthe bearingfrequent/1y. fails. lfromA overheating,v andZ the material of the bearing, such .as Babbitt'metal, freezes to the Wornsurface of the shaft, thus preventing removal of the bearing Without considerable trouble. In cases'of that'kind'it is'frequently necessary to heat the bearing suiciently t0 soften the Babbitt metal so that it can'beforced over and olf the worn part of the shaft,` thereby 'destroying its further usefulness.

`Waste^packed bearings as `ordinarily constructedghave'l the compacted AWaste always resting heavily upon a considerable portion of the journal area ofthe shaft. At the sametime,

i the compacted packing closely contacts the walls of the reservoir cavity sothat-When a shaft is running it has the tendency to create a siphon- 'ing or 'pumping jfaction through the' packing, therebydrawing ors-licking an excessive amount of oil into the bearing, which results in a corresponding'wastefulness in the consumption of voil. Notwithstanding the #excessive amount of "o'il usedin IWaste-pa;'cked bearings as heretofore *'constructed;asshaft-nevertheless is cut or scored because-"of its close contact With-the packing.

By means oflthe novel method of applying oil "according to the-invention, the -Wear is enormouslyreduced,- so; that the life oftheshaft and the life of the bearing are both correspondingly lengthened, While-at the same time large quan- 'tities of oil-are saved.

Ywhich* is provided with abottom Whose. under surface is spaced apart from the journal surface shaft. lwfa'stey content 'offthereservoiriand' the cellar' may Communication vbetween the absorbent 1-be established, yfor* example, `by means of numer- .ousperforations extending through the bottom,

such perforations being relatively small in size `inorcler` to prevent. iibers of the lWaste from Working` through'.theperforations and coming in contact with thesliaft.l .fiAnadvantageous:arrangement ofthe invention comprises vanfeasily separable cup lor container `thatris removably inserted in va receiving cavity of-@the :.bearingr structure.

'The aforementioned fbottomA mayxxbe integral, with the wall structure lof the.: cup. In .this arrangement, the required -Waste Orl-wick packing is tightly compressed Withlin the cup,y but asthe cup iits loosely in the reservoirccavity,.the.4 packed cup `can be easily lifted out for any purpose desired, such as cleaning or inspection of the bearing.

In using the novel bearing, the lubricant, which may bean oil of the proper viscosity, is poured onto the compacted waste in quantity somewhat greater than that required to saturate the waste. As the shaft runs, oil is gradually released from the waste in a restricted flow which finds its way through the perforations and spreads over the' ceiling area, where the oil is slowly collected. inl numerous depending, semi-globular masses. As

the oil accumulates in the semi-globularmasses,

it finally becomes detached from the ceiling to form droplets which lare drawn by the rotating shaft onto the bearing surface proper, thus bathing this surface continually ina film of 'clean lubricant.

The present invention is concerned with the method of oiling involved in using the apparatus forming the subject ofthe application for United States patent filed by Carl YW. Madsen, deceased, January 21, 1942 Serial No. 427,579, entitled Shaft Oiler, now 'matured into Patent No. y2,- 402,565 issued June 25, 194.6, and constitutes a division of the subjectmatter of that application. In the accompanying drawing which illustrates one embodiment of apparatus suitable for carrying the'methodof the invention into practice,

Fig. l represents a plan, showing a roll bearing equipped with the invention; Y v

Fig. 2, a vertical section taken on the line 2`2 in Fig. l, and drawn to a scale considerably enlarged; Y y

Fig..3, a `fragmentary elevation of the Yreservoir container or cup removed from the bearing and viewed in the direction o-f the arrow 3`in Fig. 2; and,

Fig. 4, .a further enlargement of a portion of Fig.

2, the location of this portion being indicated approximately by the broken line 4 in Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral'lll indicates a journal bearing rotatably supporting a shaftlll. In the upper part of the bearing IIJ is a ycavity or chamber I2 whichmay or may not be the same as provided in some of the waste-packed bearings as heretofore constructed. The lower part of the cavity or chamber merges into an aperture leadingdirectly o nto the portion of the shaft sur face `where the oil isto be applied. 1

In .the preferred form of the apparatus of the invention a separable cup or container I5, iadvantageously made ofmetal, isloosely disposed vin the'chamber I 2. In this instance the container is supported by. means of atop flange I6 for con- 'Venience in handling-the' container.

. In the present illustrationl one container wall I5'I is located somewhat to the left of the vertical center line VI8 passing through the shaft I4, while the opposite container wall I5-'2 has its lower portion I5-3 sloping inwardly in order that the bottom vof the 'chamber shall lie within the limits of the upper circumferential area of the shaft. The space between the wall portions of the container is bridgedV by the bottom` I9, the latter being provided with numerous .perforations such as those at 20. The underneath surface; I9-I of the bottom forms a ceiling that is spaced radially a limited distance from 'the circumferential sur-- tions 20 and then forms 'a film along the ceiling,

the shaft surface I4-I. The spacing of the-drip ceiling above the circumferential surface ofthe shaft lis at least suicient to allow the suspension of oil droplets from the ceiling. y The arrangement of the perforations 2U, for illustration by staggering 'their locations, is advantageously"'such as to break the continuity of I'lowof oil along the ceiling, thereby facilitating the formation of numerous oil droplets during the operation of the apparatus.

In'using this oiling 'device a container I5 is preferably filled somewhat over one-half full of oil and cotton waste, or other suitable absorbent material, as indicated at.24, this material being compacted to a suitablev density. The filtration or seepage of oil through the compacted material o-nto the bottom I 9 takes place at approximately a desired predetermined rate for the purpose of regulating the amount-of oil that finally reaches the bearing surface ina given unit vof time., In

predetermining the said desired ratekofyoil percolation through the reservoirs, the natureof the packing, the viscosity of the o il, together withfthe frictional heating properties of the'shaft/and its bearings must be taken into consideration?. y

supposing thatoil is poured into the vspace'25 land yonto the surface ofthe absorbentv packing 24, the latter immediately begins vabsorbing the oil preferably to the degree where it is'fullyis'aturated. After a while, if the conditions of temperature, viscosity of the oil, and so on, are favorable, oil will commence draining or loozing from the saturated Waste ontothe upper surface'v of the bottom I9 in a restricted or sluggishfjlow that' gradually creeps through the perforations 20 anda-long the ceiling surface I9' I approximatelya's indicated at 26 in Fig. 4. As therest'ricted flow of'oil continues, it tends to form a film that overspre'ads the ceiling surface and finally becomes segregatedin numerous semi-'globular masses that depend from f the ceiling I9- -I,`somewhat after the manner kinv preventing b-res from the reservoir packingffrom coming into frictional vcontact with theshaft,`

A cover hinged at 3'I in' accordance with usual construction, maybe ldesirable to keep dust and dirt away from the packing. j'; Any small quantity of oilthat tends to be dis"- chaig'ed directly into the pool 29 as iridic'ated'ao' proximately'at 32, funnels in between the bearing surfaces of the Babbitt lining Bland the shaftsur- ,face III-I, approximately asv .indicated at 35, thereby insuring completecoating of the journal. Inasmuch as the containerl5 lits loosely inthe chamber I2 any tendencyon the part Iofithefrgtating shaft tojcreate a pumpiner syphoning action through 'the reservoir packing is counteracted by the admission of atmospherieairpassing down into-the cellarbetweenthe chamber' y walls and the outside of the container, the-spaces y3| being the channels through which-the: atmos-` pheric airis admitted. n f f The invention functions to control the amount of oil that is supplied to a bearlng'byipredetermining theiamount offoil thatpercolatesthrough the packing, largely .underthe influence of .graviit'y. The cellar or oil-distributing spacey 2|I is in-a tended to function as a means to"faci1itatethe free and-efficient application of oil to the bearing surfacarather than itself serving as a storage space for the oil. To this end it is desirable that there be no lintervening structure between the drip ceiling and the circumferential surface of the shaft below.

In order to obtain the best operating conditions in the use of the invention, it is recommended that lubricating oil be providedwhich'has a viscosity such as to permit little or no drainageof oil from the container at normal temperatures, that is to say, when the shaft is not rotating. The viscosity, however, should be such thatl soon after the shaft begins to rotate, the slight heat generated by such rotation is radiated to the ceiling VIll-*4, thereby promptly starting the flow of lubricant from the more or less conge'aled film adhering thereto. As rotation of the shaft con-` tinues the bearing becomes warmer and warmer, thereby releasing a greater and greater flow of the oil held in the reservoir packing, and resulting ina tendency to keep the bearing cooled to a normal average operating'temperature of a degree such that the flow of lubricant becomes substantially constant.

As an example of an oiler ofthe invention iny satisfactory actual servi-.ce with a bearing and shaft inches in diameter, it maybe stated that the bottom consists of a perforated brass plate about one-quarter inch' thick assembled with steel plates, such as l5-I to l5-4, all welded together into a unitary, integral structure. In this instance, the distance between the shaft and the ceiling, forming thecellar recess, is Iapproximately one-quarter inch. The dimensions just given are merely suggestive.

In conjunction with the foregoing description of the novel apparatus, the novel method of oiling which forms the subject of the present invention, .comprises the step which consists in forming an overhanging or suspended transitory lm 40 of considerable area which in this instance is suspended by transitory adherence to the ceiling surface l9-I in spaced relation to a corresponding and substantially coextensive circumferential shaft area. This suspended or overhanging oil film is spread over the ceiling surface andis f'edb'yth ou that oozes from the absorb ent"reservoir 24. The oil film 40 in turn feeds theseI'ni-globular oil masses 21 which th'en drip from the film 40. As hereinbefore stated;v th'e warmthresulting from the friction of the rotating shaft in its bearing releases the oil normally cohgealed in the film and keeps up th'e iiow` and distribution of the oil over substantiallythe enltire ceiling surface under ordinaryrunning conditions. 'I'he method involves the .consideration that the lubricating oil used with the apparatus is advantageously selected with respect to its viscosity. Thisy viscosity should be such that when the shaft is at rest the oil is `more or less congealed so as to be substantially retainedin the lm, but as soon as the shaft is put into motion, the moderate heat thereby generated `be-v comes effective to reduce the viscosity of th'e oil to a point where droplets begin to form and to be gradually completed so that the Weight thereof causes them tobe detached from the ilm and drop onto the shaft surface. As the frictional heat rises and the need for more oil increases accordingly, the oil becomes still more fluid and inter-office communication of a large ore milling' plant and is quoted h'erebelow:

Following is a comparative report showing the. savings on oil and wool waste, effected by the use of the new oil feed boxes on the rolls in the Fine Crushing department, over a period of one year, from March 1941 to February 1942, as compared with the same period of time from March 1940 to February 1941, when the old system of packing the bearings With wool Waste Was in operation:

Wool Cost of Wool Tons Ore Gallons Cost of Oil Amount Month and Year Mined Oil Used Waste at $.19 Waste at Total Cost Saved Used $12.62

Pounds 1, 134, 200 737 700 140. 03 $88. 34 $228. 37 1, 228, 400 822 150 156. 18 18. 93 175. 11 $53. 26

One Year Old System 13, 186, 400 14, 274 8, 400 $2, 712.06 $971. 74 $3, 772. 14

One Year New Boxes 15, 328, 400 6, 579 $1, 250. 01 $18. 93 $1, 268. 94 $2, 503. 20

of the 7 t yDefectscorrected by the use of the method. of theinvention in the foregoing instance of actual practiceuwere summarized by a plant engineer as follows: A Y, y

1) Packing in Contact with the journal surface created much friction .between the lower fibers of the packing and the journalsurface, thereby generating excessive heat which released correspondingly excessive quantities of oilfrom the oil ysupply held in the waste.

(2) The excessive oiling causedvinternal friction lin the molecular structure of the oil and resulted in adding more heat, thereby further increasing the flow of oil and the objectionable results.` y o l (3),A Continuing the vicious cycle, the layer immediately in pressure contact with the shaft became hard and brittle in a comparatively short time,-thereby seriously impeding the passage of the oil and resulting finally in burning the journal and its bearing, destroying both.

' (4) Owing to the objectionable conditions prevailing under the prior practice, no control could be exercised to protect a shaft or its bearing. The inevitable result was that sooner or later the machine had to be dismantled, the shaft turned down and the bearing renewed. Obviously, this entailed a large and unwarranted 4expense for .labor and tie-upA of the machine, in addition to the direct cost of overhauling the .shaft and bearing, these costs being not even reflectedv in the report. f f

While the invention in .the foregoing descrip-` tion is stated in more or less specific terms,.it is limited by the scope of the following claims: i

1. A method of oiling a shaft bearing, comprisingsuspending a filmv of oil of yconsiderable areavin spaced relation to a corresponding circumferential shaft area; feeding oil to the said lm; and progressively conducting oil from th said film to the said shaft bearing.

2. In a method of oiling as applied to a shaft lsaid film to the said shaft bearing.

and itsbearing, the step which comprises suspending-a film of oil of v.considerable area spaced relation to a corresponding,circumferential shaft area; feeding-oil to the said lm; Aand progressivelyv conducting droplets of oil from the n 3. In a method ofv oiling as applied toga shaft and its bearing, the step which comprises-suse pending a film of oil rof considerable -areafin spaced relation to a corresponding shaft area, the said lm of oil being Anormally eongealed; land heating the .congealed film so as to releaseoil therefrom lin a controlled flow dripping; upon; the, shaft area. v l

4. In a method of oiling as appliedto a shaft and its bearing, Vthe step which comprisessusf pending a film of oil of yconsiderable, area 1in spaced relation to a corresponding shaft area; feeding oil to the said film at numerous `indi-` vidual points distributed throughout thevlm area; Y

and releasing oil from the said film in individual droplets at numerous points throughout the lm area. Y i

5. In a method of oiling, the step whichgcomprises suspending a film of oil from a lceiling sur-- face of considerable area in spaced` relation to` a corresponding area to be oiled; and conducting oil from the ceiling area to the area to be oiled by dripping the oi1 from the ceiling at numerous. individual points. 'z

DORA I-I. MADSE1\I,/` Administratria: of the Estate of Carl W. Madsen, Deceased. v I

REFERENCES 'VCITn Thefollowing references are of le of this patent:

FOREIGN` PATENTS 'v Number rDate' f record inthe 

